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[Primer/Deck] Zoo

Do you like to play fair decks? Take advantage of the combat step with the most efficient power & toughness -to- mana cost ratio creatures in the Legacy format? If your focus is to drop your opponent as fast as possible with combat damage, followed up by some of the most effective burn spells available that act both as the last points of damage against an opponents life total, or removal against vital creatures that may hit the battlefield, then this deck known simply as "Zoo" might be a deck for your avenue of play, on top of that, Zoo has a track record in Legacy that some decks can only envy, though it is no longer a regular deck to beat as of 2013, it is still a deck that has some level of success, & in a format so diverse, it will always have a home whether it's a tier 1, 1.5, or tier 2 strategy.

1) Playing Zoo:Basics: Your route to success is through the combat step & burn, in which, burn itself can act both as removal against opposing creatures, or direct damage to finish the game when the opponent gets low enough. Drop a creature, next turn, drop more creatures, sing in the combat step, repeat next turn, use burn to take out creatures accordingly, & when they are low enough, just finish them off with your remaining burn spells in hand for the win. Your goal as a whole doesn't get any simpler than that.

Mulligans: Because of the mana curve of most Zoo decks is so low, even being a 3 color deck, you are loaded with fetchlands & duals, meaning that you will start with mostly keepable hands, & even if you do have to mulligan, sometimes all it takes is 1 land & some 1 drops to get the game going, depending on the specifics of the match up also come into play, if you know what you're playing against or not of course, if not, then you just have to base it on your gameplan that is getting their life total to zero.

Burn: When to burn, & not to burn. Generally as a basic rule, the lower their life total, the more you might want to save your burn to finish them off, the higher their life total, then it's a lean toward removal against their creature, since removing it will allow your own creatures to get through and do more damage. A Wild Nacatl swinging at an opponents life total does 3 damage unblocked potentially several times, but a Lightning Bolt only does 3 damage to an opponent once. If your Wild Nacatl can be blocked & traded with another creature (as in they both die), then keep your recurring damage, as in your creature, alive, & let your one time use burn spell take their creature out instead so you can potentially keep recurring combat damage from that creature. Obviously the other example is if they are at 3 or less life & you can "finish them" off. The one exception here is against most combo decks, they don't typically use creatures themselves, & even when they do they are usually single target bombs that are not burnable. So focus on taking their life total out as fast as possible before they combo off, if you're knowingly playing against a combo deck, then drop your creatures fast, once your creatures are down, keep swinging & start unloading your burn on them.

Variants: From "fast zoo" to "big zoo", & even lesser common lists that splash for a 4th color, like "dark zoo" as an example. The majority of zoo lists however leaned toward fast zoo, running a host of one drops that start swinging fast, it's not uncommon for three 1 drop creatures to come down in the first 2 turns of the game for zoo, backed up by equally cheap burn spells, it is one of the fastest "fair decks" you can pilot, netting turn 4 kills uninterrupted are not uncommon (like "goldfishing" for 20 damage as an example) just by swinging creatures during the combat step & burning the opponent with your red spells when they get low. More recent Zoo success however has leaned more toward the "big zoo" variants since 2012.

Fast Zoo:
This version of Zoo was the more popular overall, running more 1 drops including Loam Lion & Goblin Guide in addition to staples Kird Ape & Wild Nacatl, attempting to kill the opponent as fast as possible, fast/early combat steps swinging, followed by burn spells to finish the opponent off when not used on opposing creatures. However, as of the more recent 2012-13 trends, it makes up the lesser half of Zoo strategies.

Big Zoo:
This version of Zoo is the other side of the deck, running bigger creatures, & even Noble Hierarch to drop things like Knight of the Reliquary on turn 2. This is also where you'll sometimes find the Grove of the Burnwillows + Punishing Fire combo, though less common than "Fast Zoo" during Zoo's peak in 2011, as of the more recent 2012-13 trends, "Big Zoo" makes up a greater half of Zoo strategies.

Lightning Helix & Kird Ape have been staples in Zoo decklists since it was a type II/Standard deck, all the way back in 2005

History:
Zoo decks have actually been around since an old Standard/Type II that is Return to Ravnica, cards in the original Zoo used to include things like Scab-Clan Mauler, Watchwolf, Isamaru, Hound of Konda, Savannah Lions & even Seal of Fire & Char as some examples. For the Zoo of Today however, we will only go as far back as 2009, shortly before the deck was simply called "Zoo", then listed as "Naya Zoo." Becoming a "Deck to Beat" in Legacy for a time, & peaking in 2011, before lowering down to a tier 2 strategy, Zoo has a massive track record of top 16 placings alone, all the deck references you could ever want:

Re: [Primer/Deck] Zoo

7) 20 match ups: (Based mostly on decks that have performed with some level of consistent, higher placings since Return to Ravnica Legacy)

01) RUG (Moderate playtesting recommended, a more common match up)Pre sideboard: They are a tempo based aggro deck, luckily however, most of your stuff is cheap to cast, so their Dazes & Spell Pierces will become weak against you fairly quick. If you start out low on land drops, watch out for Stifle on your fetchland & Wasteland on your non basics. Their most powerful creature is Tarmogoyf which you can match with your own, on top of access to Knight of the Reliquary if you are running it. Even though their Delver of Secrets can become a 3/2 flyer, you have access to so much burn it should almost never be lethal. Also to note, though it's random, if you win the die role, just going 1st with a cheap & fast deck, against a tempo deck, can give you a lean depending on opening hands of both sides. Burn isn't so great against Nimble Mongoose however, their Mongoose isn't that great against your arsenal of creatures. Even double blocking with 2 creatures solves the problem just fine and makes it a 1 for 1 trade most of the time.Post sideboard: Your options: Pyroblast Their options: Submerge. Other than that, game 2-3's will be similar to game 1. Whoever can win the combat damage race to get their opponent from 20 to 0 life.

02) Stoneblade (Moderate-Heavy playtesting recommended, a more common match up)Pre sideboard: They are a control deck against you, so you have to win as fast as possible. Though be careful not to over commit if Engineered Explosives makes play, they also may have Supreme Verdict, though usually both sweepers are 1 of's. Other than that, they will have access to Batterskull through Stoneforge Mystic, so make sure you can burn the Stoneforge Mystic before it can tap & use it's ability to put Batterskull into play. They will also have some disruption in the form of counterspells & some discard, though luckily as an aggro deck, they lose life to things like Force of Will & Thoughtseize & every little bit helps. They will try to slow you down early with Lingering Souls, & Snapcaster Mage which will only do 2 damage to your creatures with mostly toughness of 3 or higher. In the end, your goal is to kill them before they stabilize the board & begin turning the game around. Post sideboard: Your options: Choke, Pyroblast, Gaddock Teeg Their options: Maybe another sweeper in the form of Engineered Explosives/Supreme Verdict if they are sideboarding any, these are the most effective cards they can bring in against you, luckily however, if you resolve a Gaddock Teeg, & they can't answer it with a cheaper spell, you will essentially have a "soft lock" against them until they draw something like Swords to Plowshares. Games 2-3 be mindful of the increased possibility of more sweeper's accordingly, while also potentially setting them up for a lock with Choke, potentially baiting a counter with a bigger creature if you think they will spend a Force of Will on it, & if it gets to mid game, you can even cast Choke with Pyroblast back up, other than that your game plan is the same, get them from 20 to 0 life before they establish control of the board state & turn the game around in their favor.

03) U/W control variants (Moderate-Heavy playtesting recommended, a more common match up)Pre sideboard: Your primary goal here is to race them before they establish control of the board state to turn the game around in their favor, though they will run sweepers that they can potentially cast from turn 2 starting with an alternate costing Terminus, this is another deck that also might run Engineered Explosives, depending on the specific persons decklist preferences. Also common, versions will run the Counterbalance + Sensei's Divining Top soft lock, so if they get one of those 2 cards down, make sure you play enough of your spells accordingly while judging possibly overcommitting into a sweeper. They will also have access to Snapcaster Mage & Stoneforge Mystic to both slow you down, net card advantage, & can even turn the game state into their favor by grabbing things like Batterskull. As far as their kill conditions go, there will be versions that run Rest in Piece + Helm of Obedience combo, while more traditional setups will run Entreat the Angels as their gameplan to win.Post sideboard: Your options: Choke, Pyroblast, Gaddock Teeg Their options: Umezawa's Jitte increased, & possibly more sweepers if they aren't maindecking enough. Aside from the change of sideboarding, the games will still be similar, you need to kill them before they kill you, judge accordingly the gamestate of how much damage you're putting out, the potential of them casting a sweeper, the ability to recover in said situation, & try to resolve a Gaddock Teeg or Choke whether it's baiting their counters with other spells, or backing it up with Pyroblast.

04) BUG aggro (Moderate playtesting recommended, a more common match up)Pre sideboard: BUG aggro focuses more on a strategy similar to your own, with things like Delver of Secrets, Tarmogoyf, Deathrite Shaman (which has the potential to be a mana producer, do 2 damage to you, or gain them 2 life, every turn) & even a potential "bomb" that is the 5/5 flyer known as Tombstalker. Their disruption will be counters like Daze & Force of Will, discard like Hymn to Tourach, & removal in Abrupt Decay. Some versions well even focus on a more tempo based strategy and run Stifle & Spell Pierce as well, but tempo strategies are less effective against a low cost, fast with powerful cheap creature filled deck like Zoo. As far as their creatures go, Tombstalker dropping can even be burned with a single burn for 3 spell followed by Grim Lavamancer's ability if you don't want to lose card advantage, but by the time they cast a Tombstalker even with it's Delve ability, you should already be in a position close enough to just swing for another combat step, or even just finish them off with burn depending on when it comes down. If you're playing Grove of the BurnwillowsPunishing Fire setup, it is good against some of their creatures, but their Goyf's & Tombstalker's will likely require more effort to remove, so don't let it get to that point unless it doesn't matter anymore & you can just finish them off for the win with your burn directly.BUG midrange strategies are where you'll find things like Dark Confidant & Shardless Agent, the cascade effect used for tricks that are it's cheaper spells to be cast for free, while even sneaking in Ancestral Vision to really abuse the mechanic. Midrange decks usually have a better late game win % against faster, cheaper based aggro decks, getting them low enough however before they start to "stabilize" with their own creature base, you can just finish them off with burn.Post sideboard: Your options: All Pyroblast will really do is stop an opposing counter, which will either be a taxing counter, or them pitching a 2nd card to Force of Will, or kill Delver of Secrets which dies to burn already. Their options: Snuff out is a potential card, some might even maindeck 1 or 2 depending on the pilot of the deck. Another card they might bring in is Umezawa's Jitte however they have to get it to stick onto a creature, & do combat damage with that creature, which is preventable fairly easily when you're filled with so many burn options. Other than that it is a race to see who can get who to 0 life first.

05) BUG control (Moderate-Heavy playtesting recommended, a more common match up)Pre sideboard: BUG control focuses more on it's namesake, the control aspects of Black/Blue/Green cards in Legacy. This is where you'll find the planeswalkers Jace, the Mind Sculptor & Liliana of the Veil, make sure you don't let Liliana tick up, she will eat your creatures if she survives & gets +1 every turn. For creatures, Tarmogoyf & Deathrite Shaman are so good they are seen in BUG aggro, all the way through midrange strategies, & even common in some BUG control lists. Baleful Strix & Vendilion Clique's will also be more common here, as well as more discard like Thoughtseize. Their removal will be better than BUG aggro decks, still running Abrupt Decay & counters, but also having access to Liliana, Strix as a blocker, & even Jace potentially bouncing when vital. Maelstrom Pulse may also be found as Abrupt Decay's #5-6, though usually not a full playset.Post sideboard: Your options: Pyroblast is more effective here since it can hit more creatures if they're running Strix/Clique, as well as Jace, the Mind Sculptor if things actually go that far & it becomes relevant. Their options: Pernicious Deed if you didn't see any maindeck, then there is likely some in the sideboard, though not all BUG control decks run this sweeper in their 75, not all lack it as an option either, & playing an aggro deck it is something to keep in mind. Luckily however it won't usually wipe the board until turn 4. Aside from that & potential 2 for 1's with Maelstrom Pulse & Hymn to Tourach most of their control is 1 for 1'ing you card for card, so race them accordingly because they are a control deck, and you have to kill them because they will likely gain control of the board state the longer the game goes.

06) Jund (Moderate playtesting recommended, a more common match up)Pre sideboard: They are a mid-range deck, you are a faster aggro deck, so they will likely play the control deck against you at first, getting out creatures to stop your own, and bringing the battle into where they are primed to excel, in the midrange. Your goal is to kill them, or get them so low you can finish them off with burn before that would happen. Punishing Fire + Grove of the Burnwillows combo is sometimes popular here in some lists, though luckily most of your creatures toughness is 3 or higher, so only their Abrupt Decay & Lightning Bolt will be truly effective removal. An even more effective removal however is Liliana of the Veil, though in Zoo's defense, you can just burn the planeswalker away to keep it from making you sac too many creatures, & as long as you answer Liliana right away, it won't be able to make you sac multiple creatures over the course of turns. TarmogoyfBloodbraid Elf & Deathrite Shaman also have a home in Jund as far as opposing creatures you're likely to see, luckily though, your Tarmogoyf can match their own & if they shrink the graveyard of card types with shaman, it affects both sides.Post sideboard:Your options are mostly the same, Ethersworn Canonist can keep cascade from Bloodbraid Elf in check, however if they're running Punishing Fire then anything with toughness of 2 is likely worth keeping in the sideboard. Their options: A copy or 2 of Umezawa's Jitte might come in from their sideboard, & "possibly" more discard if they're only maindecking one half of Thoughtseize / Inquisition of Kozilek, but that's the main stuff to look out for. In games 2-3, you will still be doing the same as game 1 mostly, getting the win by taking them out as fast as you can, while their goal will be to get some creatures into play and try to take control of the board state with card advantage, removal, & bigger creatures.

07) Dredge (Moderate playtesting recommended)Pre sideboard: This is where things start to get interesting, & no, this is not the most favorable start, especially game 1, without graveyard hate. It is Legacy, it is an extremely diverse format, combo & combo style type decks exist, & this is one of them. Zoo's biggest struggles in the format that is Legacy, is fast combo decks that can kill you, before you kill them. The one help in addition is only if you're running the "big zoo" variant, and you have access to Scavenging Ooze as a Green Sun's Zenith target, but if they start dredging fast enough, that might be just a bit too slow. Game 1 is just a full on race, & as far as Dredge goes, don't feel alone if you get a game 1 loss, the majority, but not all, decks in legacy, will lose a game 1 to dredge because the deck is so backwards, you'll have to burn your OWN creatures, to stop Bridge from Below, you'll NOT want to trade with Ichorids because they just keep coming back, so use your Path to Exiles on this guy, & in the case of manaless dredge, you will actually want to have them play first and be on the draw, because that means they will just pass the turn, -vs- them drawing a card & discarding it to start dredging. When it comes to backward strategies in the format, this deck isn't just an example, it is THEE example of "What the hell was that."Post sideboard: Tormod's Crypt & any other graveyard hate are what to bring in, your goal is to prevent them from dredging so you can slow the game down enough to kill them before they actually start doing stuff. Again, dredge is so backwards, while Zoo is the fastest fair deck in the format & almost always plays the aggro deck, against combo trying to race, against control trying to beat out their card advantage, against other aggro decks that are more mid-range focused, against dredge, you actually have to take a bit of a "control deck" role, and actually push for your graveyard hate in order to stop them from getting out a dozen 2/2 zombies, 3/1 Ichorid's with haste, & a 10/10 or higher, regenerating troll, sometimes all by turn 3.

08) Maverick (Moderate playtesting recommended)Pre sideboard: Key cards to stop Mother of Runes before it can start tapping, Knight of the Reliquary before it gets too big, Scavenging Ooze before it gets too big, & if their list still includes Stoneforge Mystic, they can net a Batterskull. so kill it so they can't put it into play until they have 5 mana, which can even be stopped by Gaddock Teeg. Fauna Shaman is another potential card that, if it comes down, it also needs to be killed or they will start "Survival of the Fittesting" for their best creatures, if you remember that old card before it was banned. Game 1's against this deck, you will have to try and kill them faster than they start to gain control of the board state with their bigger creatures & tutors. If you're playing Grove of the BurnwillowsPunishing Fire setup, it is a good strategy here against their weaker creatures, which include their Mother of Runes.Post sideboard: Your options: Swords to Plowshares & Path to Exile if you are running 1 main & 1 side, you want to have access to both in this match up, removal is key against Maverick as their creatures are more powerful. Ancient Grudge is another good one to bring in since it is a 2 for 1 against their multiple equipments. After that, your ultimate goal remains the same, kill them before they kill you, and try to do so in the early game, because they are better prepared for the -mid game- fight, so get them low while you can, & try to finish them off with burn. As well, same as game 1, do not let Mother of Runes start tapping for protection.

09) Ad Nauseam Storm decks (ANT/TES) (Light playtesting recommended)Pre sideboard: Another combo deck, this match up is not as favorable either, though if your list is running Gaddock Teeg & you get it into play before they start to combo, you will potentially buy yourself enough time to finish them off, but that's about it. Even with running a hatebear, they can kill you before you even drop the card, they just have to play 9 spells & a finisher, usually by getting to an Ad Nauseam and then drawing a whole host of 0 & 1 mana cast cards, as well as 2 casts Infernal Tutor & Burning Wish.
TES versions will have more disruption in the form of Silence where ANT will have more disruption in increased discard spells.Post sideboard: Your options: Ethersworn Canonist & Gaddock Teeg, also if you're running Mindbreak Trap it is very good here. Their options against you will likely not change, half their sideboard is wish targets, the other half is not aimed at aggro decks mostly. Just do what you can to get a hatebear type creature into play like Ethersworn or Gaddock teeg to stall them out so they don't kill you before you take the victory in the combat step.

10) High Tide (Light playtesting recommended, however a less common match up)Pre sideboard: And yet another combo match up, luckily however this deck isn't focused on killing as fast as possible, but still remains in their favor most of the time. Their route of action is to last as long as possible, then "going off" at the last possible turn before taking lethal, as well they can't combo before turn 3, and sometimes they need more than that, meaning they might not actually combo until turn 4, so up to that point you will get in some damage with your creatures, it will all come down to whether they have their combo pieces in time or not, while you're taking combat steps swinging their life total down. The only interaction between the 2 decks is potential Gaddock Teeg for you if you're running it, and from them Force of Will likely against an early drop to prevent enough damage to allow them to live longer & get more Islands into play. Once they resolve a Time Spiral & draw a new 7, they will likely keep going. If it gets to the point of casting a Blue Sun's Zenith on themselves for 10+ cards or more, just concede to save yourself the time, drawing that many cards or more means they are just not going to fizzle.Post sideboard: Your options Ethersworn CanonistGaddock Teeg & Mindbreak Trap if you're running Trap. Their options: Snap as the most likely bounce spell, other than that, their sideboard is mostly wish targets. Get as much of Ethersworn & Gaddock into play as you can, as they can not go off with an Ethersworn in play. As far as Mindbreak Trap, they will likely have counter magic back up, but if they go off the 1st time with a Time Spiral & it's the 3rd spell played, & they don't have back up, you can use the Mindbreak Trap to remove it & actually sneak a win as they take the next couple of turns to recover, while you swing with your creatures in the combat step to finish them off.

11) U/R Delver (Moderate playtesting recommended)Pre sideboard: This is basically a weaker strategy to what you are doing, except that where they have weaker creatures, they have counterspells. However, you will almost always win on the battlefield, especially with stuff like Tarmogoyf which will usually be out of their burn range, unless they're running Thunderous Wrath & miracle it. This is also a deck that can run Price of Progress so if you have the option to get a Dual or a Basic, net a basic if you can make it work. Their creatures are things like Goblin Guide, Delver of Secrets & Snapcaster Mage, all stuff that has power/toughness of 2 or less, so your creatures will almost always win, & your Grim Lavamancer if you're running it can eat all of their creatures. If you're playing Grove of the BurnwillowsPunishing Fire setup, it is a very good strategy here.Post sideboard: Your options: Pyroblast However, your burn can take care of any of their blue creatures, so all you're really doing is giving yourself a counterspell against their own, so it's definitely not required, as another creature drop after their counter can basically do the same thing. Their options: Hydroblast may come in, as well as Submerge but that's about it. The game plan is still the same, get out as many creatures as you can & start swinging, using your burn on their more vital creatures like Grim Lavamancer & Delver of Secrets since it can fly and do 3 dmg per.

12) Show and Tell variants (Sneak & Show/Omnitell) (Moderate-Heavy playtesting recommended, a more common match up)Pre sideboard: Another combo match up, & another one not in your favor most of the time, they are likely to pull their combo off turns 2 if they are faster, to turn 4 if they're slower. Their goal is to play Show and Tell then, whatever you drop, likely won't matter when they drop a bomb like Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, Griselbrand or against Omnitell versions, Omniscience & then Burning Wish for Petals of Insight then cast it a repeated # of times, finishing you off with a storm spell, the other version being less complicated & just swinging with their bomb, using it to draw cards (Griselbrand) or make you sac 6 permanents (Emrakul). One thing to note, Griselbrand works by paying 7 life at a time, so if you get them low enough fast enough, they might actually get to the point of only being able to use it once, or even not at all if you're holding burn and untapped.Post sideboard: Your options: Pyroblast is a good card to bring in on this match up, but if you're running something specifically for a Show and Tell match up in your sideboard, then you'll likely have access to something more effective that actually plays off their Show and Tell's like Oblivion Ring. Their options are less impressive, really keeping their same 15, though it is mostly because they don't have a harder match up against aggro based decks since they are a faster, combo deck. Game 2-3 if you have hate specifically for this deck, you can stop them when they cast Show and Tell by dropping an answer, but aside from that you'll be aiming to swing them down as low as you can before they combo out, hopefully low enough to kill them first.

13) Elves (Moderate playtesting recommended)Pre sideboard: If it's Elves, it's got alot of creatures, but it's likely combo Elves. Their key spells for that are Green Sun's Zenith into a Regal Force to draw a bunch, or Natural Order for Craterhoof Behemoth for a killer combat step, or Glimpse of Nature to draw a bunch. In the end, it means they are going to try and draw a bunch of cards and finish their combo off with a very lethal attack step. Just burn their elves down accordingly, in the end, more elves = more mana, & less elves = less mana. They will likely take damage on purpose & not block, since most of your creatures will kill theirs without trading, & they want multiple elves in play so they can abuse the mana abilities to cast bigger spells earlier. If you're playing Grove of the BurnwillowsPunishing Fire setup, it is very good here, able to kill almost all of their creatures, save for the bomb Regal Force.Post sideboard: Your options: Ethersworn Canonist is one of the best options to have, they can literally be stuck casting 1 elf a turn, slowing them down enough that they can't Green Sun's Zenith early, or Glimpse of Nature properly, leaving them to only have Natural Order as an out and even then, they might still be waiting to cast elves from their hand if you have an ethersworn in play. Their options: Abrupt Decay might come in from the sideboard being that it is a staple black/green spell at this point in Legacy, and elf decks that are even mono green can splash a dual land and some fetches to be able to cast it easily with the swamp requirement, not to mention their mana producing elves. The goal games 2-3 will be similar to game 1, keep them low on elves while swinging the combat step to victory, just remember that it takes Craterhoof Behemoth a certain number of other untapped creatures in play for it's ability to become lethal against you. Out of all the combo or combo type decks you can go against, this is one that you have a better chance against, since much of their route of success involves dropping burnable creatures before hand.

14) Merfolk (Light-Moderate playtesting recommended)Pre sideboard: Well this is a classic match up, going back a few years in Legacy at this point, & if you remember or were around back then, etc, then you know that it's a match up more in Zoo's favor, mostly because your burn can take out their Lords before they help each other grow too big, and your creatures are fast enough that their opposing countermagic means little, & their Aether Vials are just a bit too slow, especially if you're on the play. If you're playing Grove of the BurnwillowsPunishing Fire setup, it is very good against the Merfolk strategy, keeping their 2/2's from ever growing if they can't get more than 1 "lord effect" into play at a time.Post sideboard: Your options: ChokePyroblast, their options: SubmergeUmezawa's Jitte Game's 2-3 will not be too different than game 1, just use your burn accordingly and keep swinging with your creatures, your creatures are faster to come down earlier, and you can prevent their Lords from helping eachother too much, if they do stabilize the board state and you can't get in creature based damage anymore, you will usually have done enough damage to that point that you can finish them off with burn. The only trick they have post sideboard is Submerge which is especially weak against "faster zoo" which can drop 3 creatures on the 1st 2 turns along with so many 1 drops.

15) Belcher (Light playtesting recommended)Pre sideboard: This combo match up is the last you want to go against, as well as almost any other creature based strategy. You will likely not even know you're playing against Belcher until they take their 1st turn & combo off right there, usually in the form of an army of a dozen 1/1 goblin tokens or more via Empty the Warrens, or just a direct kill that is Goblin Charbelcher itself, and of course, their deck is setup to abuse this card, they will only have 1 land, a mountain, in their deck, so it will almost always be lethal unless you have some extreme luck. Other times they will just Land Grand it out of their deck, then you just take damage = to the number of cards in their deck until its gone.Post sideboard: Your options: Mindbreak Trap Their options, will likely not change, they will just do what they did game 1, most Belcher lists have a wish target sideboard, and what is a true sideboard isn't going to come in against you. As far as Ethersworn Canonist & Gaddock Teeg, they can work, but unlike against other storm type combo's, this deck will go off almost 100% of the time against you before you ever get to the point of having 2 land in play to play a 2 drop, so it's really Mindbreak Trap if you're running it, if not then hope they reveal that single Taiga from their deck early & basically fizzle, but it is something that is just extreme luck, nothing you have influence over on your side of the table. This is one of the most unfavorable decks you can go against.

16) Goblins (Moderate playtesting recommended)Pre sideboard: Their goal is to overrun you with goblins. They will start out early dropping things like Aether Vial & Goblin Lackey, then get to a point of playing Goblin Matron & Goblin Ringleader, at that point, you have to have them low enough to finish them off with burn or just have more creatures out than they do, because after the Ringleader, they will likely have their Vial counters up & enough lands in play to start dropping multiple goblins per turn, not to mention it's even easier if you are unable to burn away a Goblin Warchief, so kill Warchiefs when you see them, or a turn with 2 goblins in play, might be followed by the next turn that ends with half a dozen goblins in play. Other priority burn targets are Goblin Lackey if it can swing next turn & you can't prevent it from hitting you with a blocker, & some of their Matron targets, like Siege-gang Commander & Krenko, Mob boss. If you're playing Grove of the BurnwillowsPunishing Fire setup, it is very good against the goblin strategy.Post sideboard: Your options: Ancient Grudge & Ethersworn Canonist However, half of the time their goblins will just be put into play through Aether Vial, so the canonist is less powerful if they have a Vial in play. Ancient grudge can help with that however, slowing down their plan to overrun you long enough for you to kill them first, and on top of that, Ancient Grudge can 2 for 1, against 2 artifacts of course if they drop a 2nd vial later. As far as the gameplan goes, it remains the same, swing your bigger creatures accordingly, and use your burn on more vital goblins like Goblin Warchief & other bigger ones netted with Goblin Matron. As for them, they might bring in Blood Moon, so be mindful and if you can, get basic lands, as you will see from game 1 they are probably running Wasteland.

17) Zombies (Moderate playtesting recommended, however a less common match up)Pre sideboard: Goblin Bombardment/Carrion Feeder + Gravecrawler/Bloodghast/Lingering Souls allow them to really abuse these creatures that keep coming back into play from the graveyard based on Landfall or being recasted based on other zombies in play, or just making 4 1/1 soul tokens from 1 card, this also allows them to really abuse Cabal Therapy casting it twice easily. After that, they run some other cheap cast discard like Thoughtseize & in zombie form with Tidehollow Sculler, also Deathrite Shaman is popular as a recurring 2 damage to help compliment their other recurring damage. Primary Burn target: Carrion Feeder's, since it is basically Goblin Bombardment in creature form, setup to sac a creature for damage, & if it gets too big it will grow out of burn range. Also note zombies in play, since that means reanimating Gravecrawlers just by "recasting them." Luckily however, while they can really abuse, & reabuse so many cards, your creatures have higher toughness and will likely live through the combat step if traditionally dealt with, so they will have to do more than that to take your creatures out, unfortunately however, they have that option, with one of the namesake cards Goblin BombardmentPost sideboard: Your options: Tormod's Crypt or whatever your graveyard hate is, is effective enough against enough of their strategy to bring in, it cuts off double Cabal Therapy, Lingering Souls flashback as well, Recurring Gravecrawlers & Bloodghast. Their options against you, they might bring in some removal if it's in their sideboard, also a Meekstone & Perish is found in the Sam Black Zombie list, a very well known piloter of the deck. Also if Goblin Bombardment is that much of an issue, especially if you're running "faster zoo" instead of "big zoo", then you can bring in Krosan Grip to stop those tricks with the card.

18) 12 post (Light playtesting recommended, however a less common match up)Pre sideboard: Best case scenario, they are a slower ramp deck trying to get multiples of Cloudpost into play so they can hardcast Eldrazi like Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, Kozilek, Butcher of Truth or Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre. Routes of avenue to do that will be Primeval TitanExpedition MapCrop RotationVesuva to copy Cloudpost directly, they can also use Glimmerpost to slow you down gaining enough life. Worst case scenario, they are a combo deck that will Show and Tell one of those bombs into play early, & you won't be able to answer it with your Path to Exile if it's an Emrakul, as well Ulamog can destroy your white mana producing land, so as soon as you realize it's 12 post, make sure you get a second source of plains mana into the battlefield. Aside from those notes, they are not very disruptive in their blue, so just race them, get out your creatures and start swinging, make sure you hit them as hard as you can because their lifegain from Glimmerpost can actually stall you out decently when they keep getting one into play every single turn. Also obvious to note, if you're running Knight of the Reliquary & a couple Wastelands, this will give you an edge that "faster zoo" decks will not have against 12 post.Post sideboard: Your options Pyroblast will only really be for opposing Show and Tells but, if they can't Show and Tell, it might take them a number of turns longer to drop their Emrakul, the Aeons Torn so it is worth it to bring them in, the other option would be to do something that works off of their Show and Tell's, like Oblivion Ring as an example. After that, they will likely bring in something for your creatures, stuff found in the 1st place San Diego list sideboard are: Elephant GrassThe Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale as a Crop Rotation target, Chalice of the Void can hurt against "faster zoo" decks that have most of their spells in converted mana cost 1 spells, so keep that possibility in mind if you're running Krosan Grip in your sideboard.

19) Junk/The Rock (Moderate playtesting recommended)Pre sideboard: They will play early disruption, then try to finish you off with creatures. However their creatures are going to be more effective, Dark ConfidantKnight of the ReliquaryScavenging Ooze(Mostly a 1 of as a Green Sun's Zenith target) Deathrite ShamanTarmogoyf. Then the disruption itself in discard, & removal in Abrupt DecayMaelstrom Pulse & Swords to Plowshares. Kill them early, they are setup more for the mid-range and their creatures overall are going to be more effective than your own, especially if you're running "fast zoo", as far as "big zoo" then it will probably be a longer game 1. Punishing Fire + Grove of the Burnwillows will help you control the board some if you are running that setup as well.Post sideboard: The will likely bring in more disruption in the form of more Maelstrom Pulse, & they might even play with Pernicious Deed in their sideboard, giving them a potential sweeper against your fast setup so drop creatures accordingly. After that, the gameplan is still largely the same, swing with your creatures and get them from 20 life to 0 before they can take control of the board state & turn the game in their favor, & as usual against most strategies, if that happens and they are low enough, you can just finish them off directly with burn for the win.

20) Zoo The mirror match! (Moderate playtesting recommended, however a less common match up)Pre sideboard: If this actually happens, especially with Zoo currently being a lesser popular strategy in the format, it will depend on a few things. The game will likely go long so do everything you can to win game 1 because game 2 can just go to time and end with 1 & 1 draw in someone's favor. The one thing that will make a difference is if someone is running "fast zoo" and the other is running "big zoo", in that case, the "big zoo" deck will likely win, especially if it's running the Punishing FireGrove of the Burnwillows setup, which at a minimum, will eat away 1 life from your life total every turn after taking the lifegain into account.Post sideboard: Remember that anything you sideboard, they can sideboard too. Cards expected to see the most would be stuff for the long game against opposing creature decks like Umezawa's Jitte. As far as the gameplan goes, drop your creatures & try to keep control of the board state, use your burn accordingly, don't let their Knight of the Reliquary's get too big if they run them, but if you have them yourself, then you will match theirs at a minimum in the worst case scenario

Re: [Primer/Deck] Zoo

Eh. I mean, it's a fairly solid history of the deck over the last couple of years, but if you're trying to play traditional Zoo right now, you deserve every loss you get (and you'll get a lot!). I've been over it before in the main Zoo thread, but Kird Ape and Loam Lion are terrible. You should never play either, under any circumstances. You have no chance of beating combo with slow creatures like that and if you're giving up the combo matchup right out of the gates, why are you even paying the entry fee?

Originally Posted by Draener

You know who thinks it's sweet to play against 8 different decks in an 8 round tournament? People who don't like to win, or people that play combo. This is not EDH; Legacy is a competitive environment, and it should reward skill - more so than it does.

Re: [Primer/Deck] Zoo

Originally Posted by SpikeyMikey

Eh. I mean, it's a fairly solid history of the deck over the last couple of years, but if you're trying to play traditional Zoo right now, you deserve every loss you get (and you'll get a lot!). I've been over it before in the main Zoo thread, but Kird Ape and Loam Lion are terrible. You should never play either, under any circumstances. You have no chance of beating combo with slow creatures like that and if you're giving up the combo matchup right out of the gates, why are you even paying the entry fee?

Agreed. Hidden Herd is doing work in my list, and it's much better than the 2/3 beaters.

I've been testing Scavenging Ooze for a while, and I found it pretty good. We have a lot of burn maindeck, and Ooze can eat everything we kill (at a slower pace than Maverick), but it can grow to a 4/4 pretty fast, and it should be enough.

@feline: In the matchup analysis, you should also put a win-rate or whether is favourable or not. Something like this: Very Favourable, Favourable, Even, Unfavourable, Very Unfavourable.

Re: [Primer/Deck] Zoo

Well in defense of Zoo, I noted the more recent trends, which is a lean more toward Bigger Zoo with even Punishing Fire from many of the lists overseas in the past year, but being realistic, you are right on the fact that Zoo is just not cutting it in the end, even Maverick which was full of hate bears has been very lacking since Return to Ravnica Legacy.

Re: [Primer/Deck] Zoo

Hi, first of all I apologize my English. It's not my native language. I have been playing Zoo for a long time but recently I have tried Big Zoo also. And for reason that the Big Zoo thread is quite dead I wanted to start some conversation here. For my experience I would say that if I had a tournament tomorrow and if I would like to play Zoo it would definitely be Big Zoo.

feline listed 20 match ups and against most of those decks Grove of the Burnwillows + Punishing Fire is a good strategy (it's good against aggro and control). The only MU where PF doesn't do much is combo. If you are playing aggro Zoo you have faster clock and small chance to race combos but usually (I'm not saying that you can't) this is unwinnable without hatecards.

One reason why I like Big Zoo over aggro Zoo is that usually when I'm playing against controls with aggro I run out of gas (and I play 2 Sylvan Library). With Big Zoo I have better late game thanks PF. And in mirror Big Zoo will kick aggro Zoo's ass.

I'm not quite sure how that Deathrite Shaman would work. It's awesome card and I would like to give him a try.

Any comments and thoughts??

I would pass on adding deathrite shaman or really a 4th color, it's been done with blue & black in the past but it's just stretching resources, I think the reason why splashing blue has been more popular between the 2 splashes possible, is because noble hierarch also taps for blue. Against this though, there was a single Dark Zoo list that was pushing for Dark Confidants & had Duress/Thoughtseize, the one list noted above, which does give proper disruption as well as card advantage, but again that is 1 list at all that has actually performed that high over the past couple years.

As far as fast zoo - vs - Big Zoo, Big Zoo is what to push between the 2, with access to Punishing Fire / Grove of the Burnwillows, this setup has even been seeing some play again in some Jund lists, as it does work against many creature based strategies at a minimum. The biggest issue, fast zoo or big zoo, is the combo match ups, so you'd probably want to have some access to some sort of disruption, & since Green/White/Red really only offer hate bears, you'd have to go with things like Gaddock TeegQasali PridemageThalia, Guardian of Thraben, which then makes you more like a Big Zoo Maverick deck, & Maverick has been on the decline on top of Zoo being out of the loop for some time now.

Every time I went over my Zoo list it turned into Big Zoo & I felt it was necessary to run some amount of hate bears, 3-4 Thalia, 2-3 Qasali Pridemage, 2 Gaddock Teeg. With the trends I would lean toward Punishing Fire as well, but after that, the biggest issue still becomes combo match ups, even with Mindbreak Trap, & in the specific combo match up Show and Tell the Trap will never be sided in. As far as control match ups go, the biggest issue would be Terminus & friends, in which has been in part the reason for the decline of Maverick, though if you resolve a Gaddock Teeg against miracle control, they have to Swords to Plowshares it, so in order to protect it there you'd probably want access to Mother of Runes but that is one specific match up out of a potential dozens that is Legacy.

Forgive me if I am rambling a bit, in the end it just means that between fast zoo & big zoo, go with big zoo for sure, & I would seriously consider pushing Punishing Fire as well, though that was already noted. Beyond that, combo will still be a whole archetype that you will have the hardest issues dealing with.

Might try playing with this list this weekend. Been wanting to try out the Hidden Herd tech though, maybe replacing Loam Lions?

Also since I'm building a jund (but lack a few keys cards to start playing) my brother sugested running a single Bayou/Badlands (and then swapping Scalding Tarns for RB/BG fecth land) and running a couple Abrupt Decays on the sideboard (probably not running Jittes, comparing to the list above, since i don't even own one lol), aimed at UW, Canadian and decks with BG, specially BUG. What do you guys think?

Additionally, 13/14 life means your opponent is in burn range (on turn 3 up top, turn 4 for Lion/Ape), so some number of hands are going to be turn 3 winnable, which is absolutely necessary in Legacy today, because that's the outside amount of time that any combo deck is ever going to give you without counters or discard. There's no reason not to run Hidden Herd and no reason to run Kird Ape or Loam Lion.

Originally Posted by Draener

You know who thinks it's sweet to play against 8 different decks in an 8 round tournament? People who don't like to win, or people that play combo. This is not EDH; Legacy is a competitive environment, and it should reward skill - more so than it does.

Re: [Primer/Deck] Zoo

I just noticed the list I just posted in my last post (who won 2nd place) runs no basic lands at all! I find the idea at the same time terrifying and also maybe worth trying. He runs what, 14 fetch lands, and all of the duals are R ones so he probably can leave the fetch lands standing around and searching whenever he needs to, in order to prevent wastelanding Nacatl. What do you think about it?

I was a bit tempted to run Thalias over Mindbreak Trap in the sideboard, but then I remembered Storm decks are at large in the current meta, and it would suck to lose with Thalia in hand and he comboes in turn 1. Also, maybe 4 Mindbreaks should be the correct number.

Hoping to play with this tomorrow, so I'll come back with the results.

Re: [Primer/Deck] Zoo

Originally Posted by aluisiocsantos

I just noticed the list I just posted in my last post (who won 2nd place) runs no basic lands at all! I find the idea at the same time terrifying and also maybe worth trying. He runs what, 14 fetch lands, and all of the duals are R ones so he probably can leave the fetch lands standing around and searching whenever he needs to, in order to prevent wastelanding Nacatl. What do you think about it?

I run 12 fetches and 8 duals, 4 Taiga, 3 Plateau and 1 Savannah. Red is definitely the most important color in this deck, but I like having 1 Savannah around. I cut it from 3/3/2 because there are definitely times where I'm pulling my hair out at having Savannah instead of something that makes red mana, but there are also times when I really WANT to fetch up Savannah and it's a nice 3rd land to fetch for to ensure no single Wasteland will cut you off from a color.

Honestly, not having any basics just means you can't use PoP as effectively. Anyone trying to Waste you is going to be sad that they did when they realize that they're spending a turn Time Walking themselves.

Originally Posted by Draener

You know who thinks it's sweet to play against 8 different decks in an 8 round tournament? People who don't like to win, or people that play combo. This is not EDH; Legacy is a competitive environment, and it should reward skill - more so than it does.

Re: [Primer/Deck] Zoo

Originally Posted by SpikeyMikey

I run 12 fetches and 8 duals, 4 Taiga, 3 Plateau and 1 Savannah. Red is definitely the most important color in this deck, but I like having 1 Savannah around. I cut it from 3/3/2 because there are definitely times where I'm pulling my hair out at having Savannah instead of something that makes red mana, but there are also times when I really WANT to fetch up Savannah and it's a nice 3rd land to fetch for to ensure no single Wasteland will cut you off from a color.

Honestly, not having any basics just means you can't use PoP as effectively. Anyone trying to Waste you is going to be sad that they did when they realize that they're spending a turn Time Walking themselves.

I disagree that not having any basics means we can't use PoP well. How often is it that you and your opponent are both low on life and PoP kills you too?

Imo, if we are in that situation, we've probably already lost anyways. I find myself normally up way up on life and use PoP as a haymaker to finish them off. If it hurts me too, who cares?

Re: [Primer/Deck] Zoo

I disagree that not having any basics means we can't use PoP well. How often is it that you and your opponent are both low on life and PoP kills you too?

Imo, if we are in that situation, we've probably already lost anyways. I find myself normally up way up on life and use PoP as a haymaker to finish them off. If it hurts me too, who cares?

Well, that's why I said as effectively. You can still run it, although at this point, I'm a bigger fan of Boros Charm.

As an aside, I cut the Flame Rifts from my build and replaced them with a pair of Forked Bolts. It just felt a little weak sometimes only having 8 burn spells that could go to creatures instead of to the dome. Stoneblade is the biggest chunk of the metagame and having a little bit of anti-Lingering Souls main seems reasonable. No point in giving them time to develop. Additionally, it's fun to be able to yell out "I'LL EAT YOUR SOULS!!" when you cast it.

Originally Posted by Draener

You know who thinks it's sweet to play against 8 different decks in an 8 round tournament? People who don't like to win, or people that play combo. This is not EDH; Legacy is a competitive environment, and it should reward skill - more so than it does.

Re: [Primer/Deck] Zoo

Well, Forked Bolt eats DRS, Stoneforge, half a Lingering Souls or a Delver. It's rarely dead. With Flame Rift, and this never came up but I could see it coming up, a single fetch means an Emrakul is lethal. It's game anyway 90% of the time but I could see a Sneak Attack Emmy with nothing to follow it up, giving you a few turns to recover and find some burn and lands. It's corner case stuff to be sure but I didn't mind making the switch anyway.

Originally Posted by Draener

You know who thinks it's sweet to play against 8 different decks in an 8 round tournament? People who don't like to win, or people that play combo. This is not EDH; Legacy is a competitive environment, and it should reward skill - more so than it does.

Round 1: UB Reanimator.
G1: He starts out putting Elesh Norn on graveyard, I start out with Goblin Guide and turn two, Hidden Herd. In his turn he reanimates it Elesh, killing the Goblin, while in my turn I try to Path of Exile it, but it gets dazed. I have 2 burns in my hand and eventually I burn it up when yet another one comes up, but by then I have 1 hp ad the Herd never transformed. Eventually he uses Animate Dead on Iona, and for whatever reason targets it for Green color, which was unfortunate as my next draw is a Qasali Pridemage. Loss.
As I start boarding I notice I didn't include any graveyard hate, though I honestly don't think that matters too much in this match up. I board in Karakas, REB/Pyroblasts and Oblivion Ring. Board out Lavamancers.
G2: I have a very good hand with guide, a couple burn spells, path to exile and REB, except I have only one Plateau. He promptly reanimates Jin Gitaxias, I don't draw a second land, but I try landing a Path to Exile, but it gets dazed.. then I lose my hand. I still try playing a little longer in hopes of a Karakas but that doesn't show up either. Loss.
0-1

Round 2: Jund DARK DEPTHS
G1: I don't remember much of this match except that Hidden Herd was awesome at turn 1, dude wastelands me which means we start the game with me having a 3/3 beater and attacking ;). I have a bajillion burn spells and even he playing a lot of creatures they arent enough. Win.
I side in Oblivion Ring and Abrupt Decays, waiting for more resistence and potentially Tarmogoyfs, but turns out his major beater was another thing entirely.
G2: I don't rmemeber the beginning but I had a nice hand with creatures, lands, O.Ring and Path. By turn 3 he plays the Dark Depth combo, but luckily he doesn't discard me and he loses his giant cthulhu monster to Path to Exile. Win.

Round 3: Goblins.
G1: I start really well, though Lavamancer never saw the light of the day, dying to tarfire I think, as soon as he gets on play. I level him to 1 HP but he has a lot of mana, and Vial at 4. Without removal I get hit by Lackey a couple times, and by now he has some goblins in play, he plays the Haste commander goblin and puts in play Piledriver and several tokens which results in taking me from 19 to -3 hp. Loss.
I side in Decays and Seal of Cleasing, side out the Guides.
G2: I mulligan to 5, which was an incredibly good hand for 5 cards, but it didn't get the breathing power for a longer match such as Goblins. I end up swallowed. Loss.

Round 4: Merfolk
G1: Taiga, Herd, Go. He plays Island, plays Vial. Ok, this is Merfolk! I have a bajillion removals and the beaters do their job. Win.
Side in: Decays and REB/Pyroblast. Sideout: Can't really remmeber. I think I took out Herds because he never played non-basics, though it's known Marfolk plays mutavaults and wastelands.
G2: It's a longer match and he plays more Lords than I can count, but I'm very lucky to have 2 lavamancers in game. Eventually he turns the tide with a Jitte, and cleans up my table of Guide (blocked to kill his critter) and two lavamancers from the Jitte tokens, but to my luck I draw an Abrupt Decay and destroy it. He only has one Lord in game and vial at 2. I'm lucky again to draw a Tarmogoyf, who lands in table as a 6/7 beater (creatures, instants, sorceries, artifacts, tribal spells and land) and he gives up. Win.

Overall I think it worked very well, as the only times I went really bad was out of luck (no lands or mulliging to 5 and lakcing staying power later).
SLOPS: Wasn't able to try out Boros Charm. The only time it was in my hand was in hands I ended up taking a mulligan.

Re: [Primer/Deck] Zoo

All zoo needs is Burning-Tree Emissary, because emissary into kitty and gorilla is sort of insane.

So I read this comment the other day on Salvation, and I don't Know if its just that simple. Emissary can add to some very explosive turn 2s, but I'm not sure if that fixes the plethora of problems this deck faces right now.

T1 Wild Nactl
T2 Emissary ->Goblin Guide/Wild Nactl (Swing for 5)
T3 {(Swing for 10) 15 Damage total} Putting them in Finish them off burn range on T3.
Is one heck of a wall to face down.

Edit. I may have convinced myself while writing this that BTE is playable.